Billions pledged to modernize the U.S. Postal Service with electric delivery trucks have so far produced only a trickle of vehicles on the road, leaving thousands of aging mail trucks in daily use and intensifying questions in Washington over planning, procurement, and the future of a core public service.
Slow rollout after an ambitious start
Congress set aside about $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act to help USPS purchase roughly 35,000 battery‑electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, or NGDVs, from Oshkosh Defense. To fulfill that order, Oshkosh opened a new factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with early projections of building up to 80 trucks a day.
Those expectations quickly unraveled. Between July and November 2025, technical problems, leak‑testing failures, and broader manufacturing setbacks dragged NGDV EV production down to just three to four trucks per day. As of November 10, 2025, only 612 Oshkosh electric NGDVs were operating on active mail routes, far short of the volumes envisioned when funding was approved.
USPS emphasizes that more than 9,300 electric vehicles of all types funded through the Inflation Reduction Act have been delivered across its fleet. But the main NGDV program—the flagship of its modernization push—remains far behind schedule.
Old trucks, rising risks
Because new electric trucks have arrived so slowly, carriers in many parts of the country continue driving Grumman Long Life Vehicles first put into service in 1987. These aging models lack airbags, modern safety systems, and effective climate control, and they are known for poor fuel economy, noise, and increasing mechanical fragility.
Years‑long delays in replacement mean postal mechanics must keep these vehicles running well past their intended lifespan. Fire incidents and breakdowns have become more frequent, forcing managers to shuffle routes and keep backup gasoline vehicles in service even as electric models sit idle elsewhere.
Suppliers under scrutiny and an idle electric fleet
Oshkosh Defense is responsible for designing and building the purpose‑built NGDV fleet, while USPS has also bought thousands of Ford E‑Transit battery‑electric vans as an off‑the‑shelf option to help meet near‑term electrification goals. By late 2025, more than 6,700 E‑Transits had been delivered to USPS facilities, yet only 2,010 were in active service.
That gap has become one of the most visible flashpoints in the program. More than 6,700 Ford E‑Transits remain parked and unused, largely because they were not engineered for many of the curbside and rural routes that dominate the USPS network. Critics argue that decisions were rushed under political pressure and did not adequately account for operational realities such as route length, delivery patterns, and loading requirements.
The mismatch extends to infrastructure. USPS has installed 6,651 charging ports at 75 locations nationwide—nearly three times the number of electric vehicles currently operating daily. With just 612 Oshkosh electric NGDVs in service, the numbers work out to roughly 10.8 chargers per active NGDV. Supporters say the extra capacity is necessary to prepare for a future production ramp‑up; detractors see a costly sequencing error in which charging networks were built long before suitable vehicles arrived.
Jobs, politics, and finances collide
Behind the manufacturing setbacks are about 1,000 workers at the Spartanburg plant. The facility was promoted as a long‑term anchor for regional employment, but production instability has created ongoing uncertainty over hours, future orders, and potential layoffs. Local officials now face the possibility that a project once billed as an economic engine could be scaled back if the federal contract is altered.
In Washington, the situation has turned into a high‑profile political fight. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who chairs the Senate’s DOGE caucus, has emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of the program. Pointing to billions of dollars committed and only 612 NGDV electric trucks on the road, she has pushed to cancel portions of the order and return unspent funds to the Treasury. USPS responds that the broader electrification effort has already delivered thousands of vehicles and will accelerate, but the dispute has spilled into budget and oversight hearings.
The broader finances of the Postal Service magnify these tensions. In fiscal 2024, USPS reported $9.5 billion in capital losses. Even as it invests in electric models, the agency continues to buy gasoline‑powered vehicles to keep routes staffed and maintain reliability. To date, USPS has acquired 26,341 internal combustion vehicles as part of its modernization plan: 2,602 NGDV gas trucks, 14,489 Mercedes Metris vans, and 9,250 Ram Promasters. That ongoing reliance on gasoline models has undercut the administration’s message of a rapid transition to a fully electric fleet.
Service, environment, and what comes next
The slow transition affects more than balance sheets. Major shippers and logistics partners, who depend on USPS for last‑mile and rural deliveries, increasingly monitor fleet reliability as they decide whether to lean on postal capacity or expand their own networks. Persistent uncertainty has nudged some private carriers to invest more heavily in independent infrastructure, subtly shifting competitive dynamics in parcel delivery and weakening USPS leverage in some markets.
Rural communities face the greatest exposure. In many small towns and agricultural regions, USPS is the only practical option for shipping medicines, farm supplies, and essential household goods. Breakdowns in older trucks and delays in deploying more reliable replacement vehicles tend to hit these areas first, prompting some suppliers to reroute packages through more expensive carriers and widening existing gaps in service quality between rural and urban customers.
Healthcare logistics adds another layer of concern. USPS distributes a large share of mail‑order prescriptions to veterans, seniors, and patients in remote areas. Stretched maintenance schedules, inconsistent vehicle availability, and stalled EV deployment have raised questions among healthcare providers about temperature control, delivery timing, and the risk of missed doses.
Environmental goals have also come under pressure. The Biden administration pledged that USPS would move to purchasing only electric delivery vehicles beginning in 2026. With NGDV production stuck at a handful of units per day and just 612 Oshkosh electric trucks in operation, specialists now widely doubt that this target can be met. Environmental advocates argue the underlying technology is sound and blame procurement decisions and execution; skeptics of federal EV initiatives point to the USPS experience as evidence that large‑scale mandates are difficult to implement on time and on budget.
Manufacturing defects discovered early in the program highlight those execution problems. Leak‑testing at the Oshkosh plant uncovered water intrusion so severe that one account described it as comparable to rain pouring through open windows, forcing rework, slowing safety approvals, and delaying a move to full‑rate production. Investors have started treating the NGDV program itself as a risk factor for Oshkosh, warning that any major contract changes or congressional intervention could affect the company’s revenue and valuation.
For mailers and taxpayers, the consequences are visible in older trucks still out on the streets, postage prices under pressure, and service improvements arriving more slowly than promised. If lawmakers ultimately scale back the Oshkosh order, USPS would likely lean more heavily on commercial electric vans from multiple manufacturers, creating a more fragmented fleet and raising the possibility of legal disputes over existing contracts.
For now, the postal electrification effort stands as a case study in how technological ambition, political expectations, and manufacturing challenges can collide. Supporters of electric delivery vehicles maintain that the problems stem from planning and oversight, not from the capabilities of the technology itself. The choices made over the next few years—about contracts, fleet mix, and investment priorities—will determine whether the Postal Service can still deliver on its modernization goals while preserving reliable service for the public.
Sources:
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) official press releases and fleet modernization updates
USPS Office of Government Relations and Public Policy (including statements by VP Peter Pastre)
U.S. Senate Committee correspondence and budget testimony
Senator Joni Ernst (R–Iowa), Senate DOGE Caucus public statements and letters
U.S. Congress – Inflation Reduction Act (2022) funding documentation
Oshkosh Defense corporate manufacturing and production disclosures
Washington Post (manufacturing defect and leak-testing reporting, Dec. 2024)
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) postal fleet oversight reports
USPS Fiscal Year 2024 Financial and Capital Loss Reports
Federal procurement and fleet modernization filings